State Republicans Notch Wins in Biden Districts as 2020 Momentum in New England Continues
After a historic 2020 election cycle in which the RSLC shocked political observers across the country by holding all of its 59 Republican-controlled chambers and flipping two more in New Hampshire, the RSLC continued its momentum in the Granite State last night. Republican Bill Boyd defeated Democratic former state Representative Wendy Thomas in a special election to fill the vacant New Hampshire House of Representatives seat of the late Speaker Dick Hinch. The campaign was “was believed to be the most expensive special election in state history” and Boyd’s win is all the more impressive considering Joe Biden carried the district by 6 percent in November of 2020. It was also another case study of how national Democrats continue to make more bad spending decisions to support more bad policies.
THE RSLC’S SMART SPENDING DELIVERS AGAIN
The RSLC’s targeted, data-driven spending decisions and creative messaging campaigns continue to get the better of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC). While the RSLC spent just $10,000 on this race, Boyd beat back nearly $30,000 in spending by the DLCC, making him the committee’s latest failed target in their “flip everything” campaign.
New Hampshire GOP Executive Director Joe Sweeney put it best on twitter last night, “The @NHGOP and the @CTEHR teamed up with the @RSLC to ensure a robust mail, digital, & door to door operation was executed to elect @BillBoydIII tonight! We’re excited to work with our partners in the RSLC to expand & defend our NH House and Senate Majorities in 2022.
WHAT THEY WERE SAYING
The DLCC had also billed this race as a bellwether for their success in 2021-2022. Here is just some of what they were saying:
“This has been a tough fight, wire-to-wire – but it’s a fight we have to put our whole hearts into. The payoff from flipping red-leaning seats like this blue would be simply enormous....But the Republicans aren’t making it easy. They know how much momentum Democrats could gain with a victory here, and they are spending BIG to stop us.” (DLCC fundraising email, 4/11/21)
“But now, Republican senator and 2024 contender Tom Cotton just weighed in, too – calling the seat ‘vital’ and warning that a Democratic win would be seen as ‘a huge victory for the Democratic Party… foretelling good elections coming up for them in places like Virginia and New Jersey this fall, and in the midterm elections.’ For the first time in his career, Tom Cotton is actually right about something” (DLCC fundraising email, 4/10/21)
“This is an early chance for Democrats to get a head start and lay the groundwork for victory in one of the hardest-fought swing states of the 2022 midterms.” (DLCC fundraising email, 4/10/21)
“But all this Republican spending is proof that Democrats have an opening.” (DLCC fundraising email, 4/9/21)
BIDEN DISTRICT WIN IN CONNECTICUT
Bill Boyd wasn’t the only state Republican to win in a Biden district last night. Monroe Town Councilman Tony Scott was victorious in the special election for the 112th House District of Connecticut, winning by a comfortable seven point margin. This was also a seat the DLCC desperately wanted to flip, calling it a “pure tossup offensive opportunity” in an April 2 fundraising email.
CONCLUSION
By the Democrats own logic, last night’s wins in New England make clear that state Republicans have the wind at their backs headed into 2021-2022. State Republicans continue to run strong candidates who have the right policies, and the RSLC continues to make smarter investments than its counterparts, making it no wonder why the DLCC has already started “pleading for more down ballot resources after a disappointing 2020.”
That said, we cannot get complacent. Democrats will continue coming back, well-funded and well-organized as ever, and we will only be able to keep winning if we have the resources to respond. Doing so will require us accelerating the pace of our fundraising and building on the record haul we had in the first quarter.
